Introduction
Data encryption has come a long way in the past few decades. As I look ahead to 2024, I foresee several key ways that data encryption techniques and technologies will continue to evolve. In this article, I will provide an in-depth look at the likely data encryption developments on the horizon.
Growth of Quantum Computing
One of the biggest potential changes I see coming for data encryption is the emergence of quantum computing. Quantum computers have the potential to be exponentially more powerful than classical computers. This introduces a threat to many existing data encryption methods like RSA and ECC that rely on the difficulty of factoring large prime numbers.
To stay ahead of this threat, I expect new “post-quantum” encryption algorithms like lattice-based cryptography to be further researched and standardized. Governments and enterprises will need to upgrade their encryption schemes before quantum computers can break them. Migrating to post-quantum cryptography will be crucial for security in 2024 and beyond.
Proliferation of Encryption-as-a-Service
As encryption gets more complex, I foresee more companies turning to Encryption-as-a-Service (EaaS) providers to manage it. With EaaS, the service provider handles key management, algorithm selection, and optimizing performance. This allows companies without encryption expertise to implement best practices.
EaaS subscriptions are likely to increase in 2024 as more data moves to the cloud. Cloud infrastructure introduces new challenges for managing keys and encryption policies across dynamic environments. EaaS providers will continue developing turnkey solutions to address these complexities.
Greater Adoption of Homomorphic Encryption
Homomorphic encryption is an advanced technique that allows computation on encrypted data without decrypting it first. This enables secure data analytics and operations on sensitive data. Homomorphic encryption has traditionally suffered from huge performance penalties, but optimizations will continue improving it.
In 2024, I expect real-world adoption of homomorphic encryption to pick up steam. Applications include secure machine learning, private information retrieval, and searching of encrypted databases. As the techniques mature, homomorphic encryption will become practical for more use cases.
Encrypting More Types of Data
Most data encryption today focuses on data at rest and in transit. But as security threats grow, techniques will emerge to encrypt more data types.
Searchable encryption allows searching encrypted data through tokens or metadata. Encrypted machine learning enables training models on encrypted data. And encrypted code execution platforms can run computations in a fully encrypted environment.
I expect encrypted variants of more data processing functions to appear by 2024. This will let organizations analyze and use sensitive data while keeping it encrypted from end to end.
Integration with Blockchain Technologies
Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) have inherent synergies with cryptographic encryption. DLTs rely on cryptography for securing transaction data. And the decentralization of blockchain aligns with the trustless model of end-to-end encryption.
In 2024, I expect deeper integrations between encryption schemes and blockchain implementations. For example, encrypting smart contract bytecode can reduce attack surface. And using blockchain to manage encryption keys can provide identities, auditing, and access controls. As blockchain sees wider adoption, combining it with encryption will become a best practice.
Conclusion
Data encryption forms the foundations of data security, especially as computing becomes more distributed. Developments like post-quantum cryptography, homomorphic encryption, and encryption-as-a-service will mature to meet modern demands. And novel data types and blockchain integrations will expand encryption’s scope. With proactive preparation, organizations can stay ahead of threats and use encryption to enable secure data usage. As encryption evolves in step with technology, it will continue playing a critical role through 2024 and beyond.
